"Hastings’ success and growth during the past 30 years has been grounded in our total commitment to satisfying our customers’ desires by providing a special community environment that includes a wide range of entertainment products and services in a single superstore location," said Marmaduke, who is slated to discuss "Creating Customer Excitement at Hastings Entertainment" at 10:00 am on Thursday, Oct. 14. "Our stores are designed to be fun and informative gathering places for our customers to shop, so we offer such amenities as free gourmet coffee, comfortable chairs for reading, CD listening stations, video game preview stations and telephones for free local calls.

"We have grown our entertainment retailing chain to 142 superstores serving small to medium-sized markets in 21 states, and are completing one of the most ambitious expansion years in our history," added Marmaduke. "We have achieved this type of growth by consistently recognizing that, while our shoppers are interested in the products we carry, they are also very sensitive to the atmosphere we create in each of our stores, including the service our associates provide. Attracting new and repeat customers requires offering more than just products on the shelf, and that’s where Hastings’ fluid customer satisfaction philosophy has been the driving force in creating high-quality, fun shopping experiences in our stores."